Marco Investment Management LLC Has $19.99 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,704 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 1.7% of Marco Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $19,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 10.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 59,207 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $13,481,000 after buying an additional 5,764 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 39.8% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,444 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.0% in the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 16,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,673,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,895 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Lavaca Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the first quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 2.8 %

AXP stock opened at $301.30 on Friday. American Express has a twelve month low of $163.32 and a twelve month high of $301.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $276.08 and its 200-day moving average is $253.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.